Natural Gas Severance Tax

When we take from our natural resources, we have a responsibility to future generations to reinvest in those natural resources. Dedicating significant severance tax revenue to Growing Greener helps ensure that our shared environment is not diminished by drilling.

One way elected officials in Harrisburg could renew Growing Greener is the Natural Gas Severance Tax.

Dedicating a significant portion of any natural gas severance tax to the Environmental Stewardship Fund, Growing Greener’s primary source of funding, would be a meaningful step toward renewing Growing Greener. Pennsylvania sits atop one of the largest deposits of natural gas in the world – the Marcellus Shale formation.  New drilling technology now makes it lucrative for drillers to tap into this natural resource.

Pennsylvania remains the only major natural gas producing state that does not tax extraction.

Some states use revenues derived from a severance tax on oil and gas extraction to support conservation, restoration and resource protection. In Pennsylvania, there are proposals now in the General Assembly that would direct a significant portion of severance tax revenues to the Environmental Stewardship Fund. This is a critical first step in securing the funding needed to preserve Pennsylvania’s land, air, water and way of life.